[CaffeineBuzzq]

I'm a biker and frequent a biker forum. One of the fellas posted this. I'm curious as to what a bunch of animal lover think of this rig.

His Post:

I wanted to take my dog on road trips with me but he's a 40lb beagle/basset mix and the only options for dogs bigger than those tiny rat dogs I was seeing were a trailer or a sidecar. A sidecar would be cool but those damn things cost a fortune. So I decided to make my own carrier for my pup.
I got a normal cage from Amazon that was big enough for him to fit in comfortably. He is always curled up when he sleeps so I measured him sleeping and gave a extra few inches and he has enough room to stand up in as well
I bought sissy bar quick disconnects from HD and the steel from home depot.
I started out welding the mounting brackets together at the right distance by having them installed on the bike and running my leather welding jacket over the bike to protect it from spatter.
Once the main bracket was solid welded in place I started welding up a brace for the cage that seemed to be good sized and strength with cross support all around. It was all eyeballed and a lot of "this should work great 🤷‍♂️"
I welded a chunk of sheet metal to that frame and then drilled the holes that I'd mount the cage to it with. And I bolted it all together and it seems to work great.
I have shaken the crap out of it and pulled it in all directions and it doesn't want to give so then it was roadtest time and it works great.
I had already been training with my dog for the sound and movement of the bike in the driveway so it wouldn't be scary for him on the first ride.
He sits in there and after about 25mph he just lies down and chills out. He will sometimes change from facing front to facing rear so I feel the movement while I'm riding but it's no big deal.
We've been on quite a few trips so far with no issues both on freeway and highway he's good to go back there.

 

[DaySleepers]

My first thought is that in any kind of collision that crate could easily go flying seeing as it's elevated. And regular wire crates are absolutely not designed for any kind of impact. Even in cars they're not ideal, because they'll collapse inward and potentially crush/impale the occupant in a collision. Maybe if it were one of the crash-tested crates specifically designed for travel? At least he's got eye protection covered and seems to have put effort into making sure the dog is calm and happy in the situation. It would absolutely not work for all dogs.

I don't know enough about welding etc. to really comment on how durable and reliable the mount is.

To me, it wouldn't be worth it. I'd stick to trailers/side cars specifically designed for this purpose. But I'm also not a motorcycle person in the slightest because I find them somewhat terrifying, haha.

 

[Knute]

FWIW, I am a motorcycle rider. My steel horse is an '81 Honda.

Firstly, I don't think survival in a crash is likely, but is possible depending on the severity of the impact. A rider wearing full helmet, armor jacket/pants/gloves and steel toe boots only has about a 50/50 chance of survival. Even then the protective gear will only minimize the damage. A dog in a cage wearing doggles will have low surviveability.

Secondly, it is critical for the "passenger" to remain in thier seat. A passenger bouncing around will alter the handling of the bike. So, the cage serves the purpose of keeping the animal in the consant location and not bouncing about.

Thirdly, the owner and the dog have a good bond. I commend the owner for being willing to create a riding option for his dog. Now, they can travel together and enjoy the world together.

Personally, I would have taken a different approach. But my dog isn't large by any means. He is just a 14 lb mini-schnauzer.

 

[LeoRose]

If you want to try this, I definitely recommend a sturdier crate, like an Impact, East Coast Metals, or even a Ruffland.